It isn’t an understatement to state that the past few months, if not years, have been a real trial for the spirit of our muslim community. The travel ban, the raging wave of Islamophobia, and the inquiring stares asking ‘why are you here’ have lead us to question our identity and our self-worth more often…
by Maliha Lakhani and Wali Kamal Everything was set up. The mic was ready to go for the MCs to start the show. We were practicing our final run for the skits, namely, the “Halaqa” skit, and we all gathered in a circle to “begin” the halaqa. Suddenly, a loud siren went on and the…
UCLA Beautiful Mind Project Presents: The Distressed Student Workshop It is that time of the quarter again, where the libraries are brimming with sleepless students fraught with anxiety about the upcoming, dreaded final exams. In an effort to reemphasize the importance of mental health, UCLA MSA’s Beautiful Mind Project hosted a Distressed Student Workshop…
Why You Should Attend ANN ANN. By now you may have either heard of ANN or seen something pop up on social media about it. But what exactly is ANN? ANN is the annual Alumni Networking Night hosted by the MSA’s Academic Mentorship and Professional Development program (AMPD). This year AMPD will host its…
Hijab Day volunteer Hajar Azzam (right) with a Hijab Day participant (left) on Bruin Walk (Photo credit: Marya Ayloush) The Orientation It is a Thursday morning, and Bruin Walk is filled with students wearing colorful headscarves and pins reading “SOLIDARITY with my SISTERS in HIJAB.” This marks the start of Hijab Day, an annual event…
On Tuesday at 6 pm, a group of students from the South-Indian community organized and lit candles outside of Kerckhoff to observe and mourn the death of Srinivas Kuchibotla, a 32 year old Indian engineer from Kansas, who was shot while hanging out with his friend. Although the vigil turnout was small, it was nonetheless…
The recent Executive Order by President Trump banning non-immigrants and immigrants from seven Muslim majority nations has ensued predictable chaos and uncertainty within the Muslim community and the rest of the world. This situation is rightfully upsetting and frightening, more so because of the lack of clarity regarding how the Order plays out legally. Therefore,…
This was our first year attending MSA West and while every one had a different reason for attending whether it was to gain a “spiritual high” or to “find the one”, our purpose was to learn how to have a better connection with our creator and learn anything that MSA West had to offer. We…
Last week, three black Sudanese Americans were killed “execution-style” in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Their names were Mohamedtaha Omar (23), Adam Mekki (20), and Muhannad Tairab (17). All of them were members of a diaspora community from East Africa. Regardless of their shared affiliations, Omar and Tairab were Muslim, while Mekki was Christian. According to Fort…
On Friday, February 12, 2016, Al-Talib Newsmagazine held a panel discussion that addressed ways different groups both within and beyond the Muslim community can unite to combat Islamophobia and discrimination. The guest panelists present included Qasim Rashid and Amatus Sami, both of whom represent minority groups within the Muslim community. Below are 11 key points…